Category: Prayers

“Pardon, and you shall be pardoned.” —Luke 6:37 Many wise men and women throughout history have come to the logical conclusion that we must mercifully forgive those who have sinned against us. Without forgiveness, there is vengeance and the inevitable escalation of conflict to the point of destroying the weaker party in the conflict. Without forgiveness, the family and/or ethnic group of the vanquished party wait for years, even decades, to build up the strength or have the opportunity to retaliate. In effect, we forgive or we breed terrorism. “To err is human, to forgive is divine.” We humans don’t...

“He rains on the just and the unjust.” —Matthew 5:45 Once a teenager deliberately disobeyed her mother’s midnight curfew and tiptoed into her house several hours later. Expecting a severe conflict, she entered her bedroom to find her bed neatly made, the sheets and blankets arranged the way she liked, and her favorite candy bar on her pillow. Stunned by this expression of unexpected love, she couldn’t sleep. Weeping uncontrollably, all she could do was think of how much God and her mother loved her. That night, she surrendered her heart to Jesus and asked Him to be Lord of...

“If the virtuous man turns from the path of virtue to do evil, …can he do this and still live? None of his virtuous deeds shall be remembered, because he has broken faith and committed sin; because of this, he shall die.” —Ezekiel 18:24 The years 2002 and 2018 were notable for the uncovering of sexual abuse scandals involving certain Roman Catholic priests. Upon hearing the breaking stories, most people reacted like God did in the above passage. Any good deeds done by these priests were forgotten. They were generally condemned by the public because they had turned from virtue...

“Then she prayed to the Lord, the God of Israel, saying: ‘My Lord, our King, You alone are God. Help me, who am alone and have no help but You, for I am taking my life in my hand.’ ” —Esther C:14-15 The Lord commands us to pray always and not lose heart (Lk 18:1). He calls us not only to pray but to have a life of prayer now and forever. The Lord leads us to the life of praying always by giving us needs which can be met only by Him. As this becomes increasingly obvious, we ask,...